King Arthur's History...From the Beginning

The idea of starting the Krewe of King Arthur began as early as 1971 in a classrooms of Ms. Adele Fisher and Susan Lavesseur at Marrero Middle School. Ms. Fisher taught reading and Ms. Lavesseur taught Math.  Philip Fricano, Jr. and Carl Scivicque, Jr. (at the time both were 13 years old) were friends who tossed the idea back and forth about a new Westbank krewe. It was plain simple talking back and forth about how we could start a Mardi Gras krewe . The talks continued for several years. In their senior year of high school 1976 at West Jefferson High School, Philip became the editor of the yearbook and Carl was the associate editor.

After searching past yearbooks, the two realized that the yearbook once hosted a Mardi Gras ball to raise money for its publication. Bingo!!! - - the two began hard work in getting permission from Mrs. Anite Currault to recreate the Krewe of Jean Lafitte annual ball. The ball had not taken place in almost 10 years. Each high school club sponsored a maid and duke and the scenery was borrowed from Ms. Thelma Gallico's dance school and the ball was a great success.

The following Mardi Gras after graduation in 1977 Carl and Philip met by accident at the Krewe of Pegasus's parade and within two months, the club was incorporated.

On April 12, 1977 the Krewe became a reality when Philip chartered the Krewe in Baton Rouge. Over the next few months, we met float builders, costume makers, realizing how in the world we would pull this off. Blaine Kern told me, "Listen son, you are never going to make this work, why don't you join the Krewe of Alla with the members that you already have." For the most part, I have a lot to thank him for. He gave me the "inside fire burning" and the "spirit" to make this happen.

Across the street from Blaine Kern's den was the Krewe of Choctaw's den in which we met a man, Joe Ory who painted the floats for Choctaw. Joe was the float builder for Choctaw. He encouraged us to continue with our plans and he introduced us to the Captain of Choctaw, who was Mr. Godfrey Boudreaux. Mr. Godfrey gave us the deal of a lifetime. He told us to we could use as many of Choctaw's floats, as we wanted and pay the krewe when we could. He'd  only charge us $500.00 per float.  We used 10 floats and it took us 6 months to pay for the floats. The next step was to acquire a permit. Our first permit was issued from the City of Westwego, and with the help of Mr. Errol Jacobsen and his aunt Mrs. Edith Blanda we soon acquired the Jefferson Parish permit to roll on the 2nd Saturday of Mardi Gras.

1978:  The big day finally arrived. In fact, February 4, 1978 was the date of the inaugural parade of the Knights of King Arthur. The parade started at the Vic A Pitre Park at 10:30 A.M. The parade consisted of 10 floats, 40 riders, one band, Belle Chasse Middle School, a few fire trucks, and one dance team, the West Bank Strutters. The theme of the parade was appropriately titled, "It's A Graduate's Dream." since both Captain's had just graduated from high school. Each float represented a different dream.
The parade started exactly on time but less than four blocks into the parade route, the procession was delayed - - the King's float struck a low hanging street wire on Avenue H in Westwego and the Westwego Fire Department was called to the rescue. After a 30 minute delay the procession continued.
Philip F. Fricano, Jr. reigned as King Arthur I and his sister Miss Ann F. Fricano (Bitoun) reigned as Queen Guinevere I. The crowds were very small and for the most part the people on the streets had a good laugh since the parade was passed in less than 25 minutes. It really didn't matter to us that people were laughing since the very next day we began to plan for our second adventure in 1979. The first ball was held on a Wednesday Night at the VFW Hall on Monroe Street in Gretna, Louisiana, January 11, 1978.

1979:  1979 brought to the Knights of King Arthur a major ball at the L.W. Higgins Field House, a place where other more established krewe had held their balls. The tickets were free and over 500 come out to see our Mardi Gras ball. Maids wore white dresses and the dukes were in tuxedo's. The theme of the parade was "King Arthur's Command Performance". At the ball the krewe members distributed popcorn and peanuts to the audience as the krewe celebrated it's Circus theme. Mr. Carl J. Scivicque, Jr. was King Arthur II, and his sister was queen, Miss Kim A. Scivicque (Martinez). The parade consisted of 10 floats and the crowds were light to say the least, but everyone had a great time.

1980:   The first parade of the Eighties decade brought as Rain, Rain, and more Rain. King Arthur added it's first additional float, and we were so proud to have an 11 float parade. Mr. Roy Jacobsen and his daughter, Wendy reigned as the year's monarchs. "Three years old and Proud as A Peacock" was the sign that the two Co-Captains placed on their float. The theme of the parade was "Saturday Morning Matinee" and each float represented a different channel, for instance, the Captain's Float was entitled Channel 1 instead of Float 1 since each float represented a Saturday morning television program. Even with all the rain, the fans of King Arthur were still on the street and the krewe continued to grow. The ball was held at the New Orleans Marriott Hotel and over 700 attended the ball as Irma Thomas performed for the krewe.

1981:   LIGHTS . . . GENERATORS . . . TRACTORS . . . . ACTION . . .That's right, King Arthur became a night time parade for the first time and at the time it was the only Westbank parade with male members to roll at night. "Western World Adventures" was the theme of the 13 float parade... that's right, two more floats were added. Gary Allen Rogers reigned as King Arthur IV and his daughter Miss Rhonda Rogers reigned as Queen Guinevere IV. This was the first time we used Blaine Kern's floats since the Krewe of Choctaw sold their float and den to Mr. Kern. Our King, Mr. Rogers built our very first Captain's float and Queen's float (not the present day floats) in his backyard. The parade started at the Westwego Park at Avenue C and disbanded at West Jefferson High School in Harvey. The Wild West theme was even carried out at the krewe ball when everyone was encouraged to wear Western Attire at the New Orleans Hilton Hotel. Country singer Ms. Peggy Forman, performed at the dance following the ball.

1982:  Our 5th Anniversary year was so very exciting. Our first printed cup displayed the themes of the past five years. Tour America on the 4th Street Express was the theme of the parade. Mr. John H. Kentzel, Jr. reigned as King Arthur V and Mrs. Darlene J. Blakey reigned as Queen Guinevere. The ball was held at the New Orleans Hilton Hotel and Towers. Each float represented a different state in America. The Krewe of Prince Charming was born. The krewe paraded with fifteen floats.

1983:  Oh . . . . But it was never so CA CA CA COLD! We parading in weather and the wind chill from the Mississippi River was unbelievable. The pages were wrapped in plastic to keep warm. Mr. Errol Charles Jacobsen reigned as King Arthur VI and his daughter, Miss Christi Jacobsen (Rome) reigned as Queen. 

A new Captain's float was bought from the Krewe of Zeus (which was the old Zeus's Captain's Float) The theme of the parade was entitled, "Halls of Memories, . . . A Tribute to Loyola University." The Captain of the Krewe was finally going to graduate from college. The krewe's membership grew and King Arthur paraded with 21 floats. Anthony and Shirley Colombo executed the entire court costumes as well as the entire court of the Krewe of Prince Charming. Each court had 6 maids and 6 dukes. This was the very first parade to be video taped. The ball was held at the New Orleans Sheraton, the first Mardi Gras ball to be held there, since the place had just opened two weeks prior. Over 600 people attended the ball masque.

1984:  Merlin's Festivals of Entertainment was the theme of the 7th Anniversary parade. Miss Julie McGrew and Mr. Paul Barrios reigned as the year's monarchs. Festivals from around the world were portrayed from each float.  This was the year of the New Orleans World's Fair. The ball was held in the Grand Ballroom of the New Orleans Sheraton Hotel. The club continued to grow and a 22 float parade was presented to the public.

1985:  "Journey into A Foreign Land " was the theme of the 8th Anniversary parade. 1985 was a turning point in the history of the krewe. The Krewe had a very difficult time finding bands to march in the parade, and problems along the route during the 1984 parade caused the membership to decline. Bands no longer wanted to march on the 4th street route at night. During the 1985 parade Popeye's Fried Chicken exploded after a car ran into its gas lines.   The parade did not finish to after midnight. Mrs. Mary Rome reigned as Queen and Mr. Dale Bruce reigned as King. The ball was held at the Sheraton Grand Ballroom.

1986:  1986 was a year of rebuilding. Special flyers were printed announcing the new King Arthur. The route was changed to the Westbank expressway, Barataria Boulevard and the membership soared from the previous year. "A Night in Arthur's Enchanted Forest was the theme of the parade. Mrs. Vera Plaisance Vedros reigned as Queen and Mr. Neil Peterson reigned as King.  A terrible loss to the organization was the death of an officer Mr. John Kentzel, Jr. who died one week prior to the parade. The parade was dedicated in his honor. The route change proved to be very successful.

1987:  It seem like yesterday that the Krewe was started. The ball was held at the New Orleans Marriott Hotel and the theme was "King Arthur's 10 year Reunion". Blaine Kern Artist designed floats after each one of the past themes of the parade. Mr. Michael J. Trupiano reigned as King Arthur X and Mrs. Karen Packard DiMarco reigned as Queen Guinevere. The 10th anniversary marked the first Royalty party, and the debut of Merlin the Magician. A new Captain's Float was built in Spain at the cost of over $30,000.00 The float featured a huge King's Head and two winged dragons protecting the castle. The parade was the largest with 23 floats.

1988:  "Arthur's Royal Pastimes" was the theme of the 1988 Mardi Gras season. Sports of all kinds was the central focus of the theme. Miss Loretta Persohn Brehm reigned as Queen and Mr. Calvin Linden reigned as King. The ball was held at the New Orleans Marriott. As the ball opened they announced for the Captain's entrance and then there was silence, then the announced for him again and again silence. The Captain was lost and no once could find him. It put the audience in confusion. Within a few minutes the motorcycle police entered the ball room, complete with the John Ehret High School Marching Band, floats, walking figures, and ensemble to enterain the audience, since the Captain was at his very own mini ballroom parade. Everyone had a great time.

1989:  Growth marked the end of the 80's decade. The krewe added it's second float built in Valencia Spain. In addition Merlin the Magician and the Knights in Shining Armor floats were constructed. The krewe moved its operations into a leased warehouse for the first time. The ball was held at the New Orleans Hotel InterContinental . Mr. Ted Jaymes Badeaux was King and Mrs. Cathy Smith reigned as Queen. "Naturally New Orleans" was the theme of the parade. At the start of the parade the rain poured down. It was cold, but  not as cold as the 1983 parade. All but 5 bands dropped due to the rain, which left the krewe with a surplus of cash to bein the 90's decade.

1990:  The new Queen Guinevere's float made it's debut. It featured two huge swans swimming on a lake, pulling a 16 foot figure prop of Guinevere holding a Red Rose in her right hand. Mrs. Carol Hebert Braun and her son Terry L. Braun reigned as King and Queen. Arthur's Avenue of Historical Adventures was the theme of the year's Mardi Gras festivities. The route featured the City of Gretna for the first time, and the krewe for the first time stopped parading in the City of Westwego. The parade featured 25 colorful floats portraying great men and women of history.

1991:  Twenty-five floats paraded on the Westbank street from Gretna to Marrero.  Two super floats with over 45 riders rolled, the largest in our history.  King Arthur celebrated the "Planet Earth and the Universe."  America was at war with Iraq and each float placed yellow ribbons on the float signs to pray for the safe return of the American troops.  Mr. Eugene Thacker reigned as King and Miss Jessica Pierce returned as Queen.

1992:  King Arthur celebrated its 15th Anniversary with a musical theme, "King Arthur turns 15 and that’s Music to our Ears."  Mr. Gerald Sellers reigned as King and the late Ms. Miriam Johnson reigned as Queen.  After years of doing business with Mr. Blaine Kern this was our last year with his organization.

1993:  Mardi Gras was changing and King Arthur begin to feel the effects of a declining membership  This was our first year with Louis Masset’s floats.  The theme was "An Evening for Lovers," a theme that the Krewe of Rhea did during the Captain's teenage years in the early 70’s.  Romeo and Juliet, Samson and Deliah were the hits of the evening.

1994:  King Arthur set sail on the high seas and visited exotic “Ports of Paradise”.  The rowdy crowds on Barataria Boulevard became a huge problem for the Jefferson Parish Police Department.  This was our last nightime parade.

1995:  After almost 15 years of parading at night, the Krewe returned to daytime parading with a new route and time.  The Krewe celebrated different "Cities around the World."

1996:  The Krewe went from the Big Easy to the Big Apple as we celebrated "Make Mine Manhattan," with the sighs and sounds of Broadway and New York City.  With the opening of Boomtown Casino on the Westbank our weekly bingo game revenue had declined.  After 17 years being the principal  financial support for the krewe, we decided to end the weekly games.

1997:  20 years have come and gone.  This was an extremely hard year financially but we knew the krewe must go on.  Without bingo games and a declining krewe membership we managed to parade in the City of Gretna, and host our first ball at the St. Bernard Civic Auditorium.  Miss Anne Brown reigned as Queen and Mr. Charles Turberville reigned as King.

1998:  The Krewe decided not to host any Mardi Gras activities this year.  This was the year the Captain had neck surgery and declining membership and lack of funds forced the cancellation of this years activities.

2003:  In 1803, Louisiana was purchased from France.  In 2003, the Krewe of King Arthur celebrated its Bicentennial of that purchase, with our theme, “What’s The Big Deal”.  Mr. Dwain Hertz and Mrs. Lonnie Hobbell Pullins reigned as Queen.  Floats represented the Ursuline Nuns, Napoleon Bonaparte, Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and many more.  The parade received great reviews.